Sunday, August 10, 2008

Bike Sunday

Got up early today, six a.m., and hit the pedals at 6:21. It was a bit before sunrise, and a little bit overcast, but it didn't last more than an hour.

The object today was to figure out what the big storage tanks were for, just north of Clairemont Mesa Road, on the HRO or DMV part of same. So I biked up there, and discovered it's a San Diego Gas & Electric facility. I smelled brush burning while I was circumventing the tanks, but couldn't figure out which way it was coming from. I noticed a bit of haze over towards Poway, but it might have been fog.

Cruising up Kearny Villa Road a bit, it occurred to me that there certainly a lot of open space within the San Diego city limits. From the spot I was at, there was a band fairly clear of habitation from the west to the east. From the county dump in Santee, to the city dump north of Kearny Mesa, there isn't much of anything, ceptin' a gravel pit and Miramar Marine Air Station.

That other ride, the other week, up this-a-ways, you will remember I had trouble with change for the telephone. I THOUGHT I mentioned the location, but I'm not seeing it anywhere. Anyway, it was right in front of the Spice House Cafe, which looks like a real nice place to have a meal sometime. But, it's doubtful I would actually GO there, because of my phobia about spending money. An example: The Robert Parker novel I'm reading, Thin Air, has several references to donuts (and coffee), so I got it in my head I want a cup of coffee and a donut. Plain cake. Now, the only donut shop on the route, not counting Starbucks, is Yum Yum Donuts, but when I went past there I didn't even slow down, although I looked covetously at it. There's a word for yah! I just kept going, and when I got home, I indulged in my favorite après-ride snack, Albertsons Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Granola Bar with peanut butter slathered on top. Yum!

By the way, if you ARE reading Robert Parker's Spencer novels, I highly recommend (again!) visiting the website Bullets and Beer: The Spencer Home Page. There are extensive articles on each book, with much Spencerian minutiae. The many literary and cultural references that Parker inserts in the books are listed and discussed. It's very helpful.